Kirk Ferentz addresses questions about recent recruiting violation

In 36 years of coaching, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz never committed a violation of NCAA policy. That changed on Thursday, when it was revealed that Ferentz committed a Level II NCAA infraction involving the recruitment of former Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara before he entered the transfer portal.

As a punishment, he will serve a one game suspension on Aug. 31 when the Hawkeyes host Illinois State. Wide receivers coach Jon Budmayr will be suspended for that game alongside Ferentz.

On Thursday afternoon, Ferentz addressed the media in Iowa City, and was apologetic for his prior actions.

“ I made a mistake, and I want to apologize to our players, coaching staff, university leadership, and to our incredible fans,” Ferentz told the media in a press conference.

Ferentz announced in the press conference that Seth Wallace will be the acting head coach for Iowa’s season opener. Wallace has been with the Hawkeyes since 2016 as a linebackers coach, and was promoted to assistant coach for the 2024-2025 season.

He also announced that quarterback Cade McNamara will start the Hawkeyes' season opener. McNamara played five games before an ACL injury forced him to miss the rest of the 2023 season.

The veteran head coach will return to the sidelines after the season opener in preparation for hosting the Cy-Hawk trophy game against in-state rival Iowa State on Sept. 7.